The Nanny
by kaerfemina
Summary: The well sends Kagome to a different time where she meets Kouga's father, the Lord of the South. He needs a nanny for his son and requests that Kagome help. She agrees since the well seems to have closed. What will an 8 yr old Kouga be like? R&R please!
1. A New Time

A/N: This is a new idea I came up with out of no where. Enjoy my randomness. Lol

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters therein. I only own my Kaito-kun. ^-^

"speaking" 'thinking' _flashback/dream_

* * *

The Nanny

* * *

Inuyasha and Kagome were at it again. "Inuyasha, I _have_ to go home! I have a _test_ tomorrow and I need to study tonight!"

"You can't go home now! We're too close to finding Naraku for you to leave!"

"I don't think he will be going anywhere in the span of two days!"

"You don't know that!"

She ignored him and began walking toward the well.

"Oi! Wench! Where do you think you're going?!" He said stepping in front of her, successfully blocking her path.

"Like I said, I'm going home!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am and you can't stop me!"

"Yes I can!"

Kagome slowly had a vein pop up on her forehead. Clenching her fists at her sides she sucked in a huge breath. "SIT BOY! Sit, sit, sit, SIT!" After Inuyasha made a pretty sizable dent in the earth, Kagome walked past him. She turned and waved cheerfully to the rest of her friends then walked into the trees.

She reached the well and casually jumped in. Instead of the usual blue light engulfing her, she was engulfed in a strange purple light. Confused, Kagome just went with it. Nothing strange happened. She landed on the bottom of the well like normal. But when she looked up, she saw blue sky instead of the ceiling of the well house of her time. 'The well didn't work?' She thought. 'Guess I ought to climb up and try again.'

She climbed up and out of the well. She began to walk around it and inspect it. "It looks the same as always. I don't even know what to look for if it's broken, or even how to fix it if it is." She thought out loud. She leaned over and looked into the depths of the well. She was concentrating so hard on the well that she didn't even notice the demon that sneaked up behind her.

"That well is dry. Has been for centuries." A deep voice said.

Kagome whipped around to see a wolf demon. He looked almost exactly like Kouga except his furs were black, his hair was short and his eyes were deep, dark, ocean blue. Taking hold of her bow and aiming an arrow at him, she narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?" Her arrowhead began to glow a light pink.

The strange wolf held his hands up in front of him defensively. "Please miko, I mean you no harm. I am Kaito, Lord of the South."

She lowered her weapon. "I see. My name is Kagome. What brings you here, Kaito-sama?"

"I am merely seeking for a nanny for my firstborn son."

"A nanny? What for? Can't his mother care for him?"

A look of sadness crossed his eyes but he quickly masked it. "Well, you see, his mother, my mate, was killed by a very powerful demon. Now he has no one to care for him."

"That's horrible. I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's perfectly alright. Just as you said, you didn't know."

"Well, good luck finding that nanny." She turned away to face the well again.

"If you don't mind my asking, would you mind taking the job? A miko might be the only thing that can keep my manic son in line."

"I'm sorry but I need to get home. Maybe you can find someone in the village through the woods over there?" She pointed towards Kaede's village.

"Village? What village? There hasn't been a village around here since that well dried up."

Kagome turned to face him, her eyes wide. "What?!"

"I thought it was odd that a human girl was all the way out here by herself- these woods are dangerous you know. That's why I approached you. I didn't want you getting hurt."

Kagome hardly heard him. "What do you mean there's no village? I just left it a moment ago! What happened to Kaede's village?!"

"Calm down! I don't know who this Kaede is that you speak of, but you must believe me that there is no village within a day's journey of here."

Kagome collapsed onto her knees. 'What happened? What's going on?' Her eyes widened as she realized something. "The well!"

Kaito looked at her confused. "What about the well?"

She scrambled to her feet and looked back down into the dark well. "This well is magic. It transports me through time. It must have sent me to another time! Maybe if I jump back in…" She swung a leg over the side.

The demon's eyes widened as he grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?!"

"Don't worry. I do this all the time." She smiled reassuringly at him.

"What, try and kill yourself?"

She giggled. "No. Just watch." Pulling her arm out of his grasp, she jumped into the well. "Oomph!" She landed hard on the bottom of the well.

"Are you okay?" Kaito called from above her.

"Yeah, but I don't understand why the well didn't work." She attempted to stand but when she put weight on her left ankle she fell back down. "OW!"

"What's wrong?" He jumped down to her and knelt beside her.

"Ugh, I think I sprained my ankle." She said rubbing it.

"I knew that you jumping down here was a bad idea. Now I can't just leave you like this. You can't survive in these woods with an injury like that. Come on I'll take you home with me. While your ankle heals, you can watch my Kouga. But when you're well, I'll find a new nanny."

"Wait, did you say 'Kouga'?"

"Yes, Kouga is my son."

Kagome smiled. "How old is he?"

"He's eight years old. He'll be nine by the end of autumn."

Kagome suppressed a laugh. "He sounds nice."

"Nice? Just wait until you meet him. You won't think he's so nice anymore."

Giggling, Kagome answered, "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Okay, shall we go then?"

She nodded. He held out a hand and helped her to stand. She put her arm across his shoulders as he wrapped his around her waist. He leaped up and out of the well dragging the injured girl with him. When he landed in the grass he sat her down on the well's edge. Turning to the trees, he let out a high-pitched whistle. A bunch of wolves emerged and ran to their master. He grabbed the biggest one gently by the scruff of his neck and guided him to Kagome's side. "Here you can ride on his back."

She nodded and sat on his back. The wolf was only slightly smaller than Kirara when she transforms so it was very similar to riding on her back. After she was comfortable, they were off.

* * *

It got dark but Kaito continued to run. He wanted to get home tonight. Kagome grew tired and the gentle rocking motion of the wolf's running put her to sleep easily.

At around midnight, Kaito was shaking her awake. "Wake up, Kagome. We're here."

Kagome opened her eyes and looked around. The almost full moon was high in the sky and in front of her was a beautiful mountain and a pristine lake. In the side the mountain was a large cave. "This is where you live?" He nodded. "It's very pretty."

"Wait until you get inside." He said with a wink.

She slid off the wolf's back and, limping, followed the lord into the cave. Once inside, Kagome's jaw dropped. The whole cave was glittering in the light of the bonfire that burned in the center of the den. It was like they walked into a giant geode. "It's beautiful!" She exclaimed.

"This whole mountain is filled with all kinds of precious stones so the walls and ceilings of the caves are lined with them. A fitting palace for the Lord of the Southern Lands, don't you think?" She could only nod. He chuckled. "Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary to take care of that ankle."

She followed him to a small cavern where a kind, old wolf demoness wrapped up her foot. When she was finished, Kaito led her to another section of the cave. "This is where Kouga sleeps. Next to it is where his nanny is to sleep. You can stay there until your ankle is better and you're ready to leave."

She nodded and yawned into her hand. "Goodnight, Kaito-sama."

"Goodnight, Kagome." With that, he walked away.

Kagome walked into her room. It was a small modest bedroom and in the center, was a fire in a fire pit. Even though the fire was small, it lit the entire room because the jewels in the walls and ceiling reflected the light. Too tired to really check out her new room, she limped over to the bed, crawled in and fell asleep.

* * *

Kagome was awoken to a terrible fright. A small child was jumping up and down on top of her.

"Oi! Komori-san! Wake up!" (A/N: Komori-san means babysitter or nursemaid.)

Kagome's eyes flew open to find the boy inches from her face staring at her. His bright blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Oh good, you're up! Come play with me, Komori-san!"

Still dazed and confused from sleep, Kagome only muttered, "Okay…" Little Kouga smiled widely and dragged her out of the bed. He continued to pull her out into a sun-drenched field. Kagome squinted into the brightness.

The field was filled with young wolf demon pups. Kouga finally let go of the poor girl's hand and ran off to a couple of other boys. Heaving a sigh of relief, Kagome plopped down on a log. But before she even had time to relax, Kouga was in front of her again. "Komori-san! These are my best friends, Ginta and Hakkaku."

She smiled, as she looked at the three eight year old demons before her. They looked like miniature versions of the older versions she knew. "Nice to meet you."

"Play with us!" Kouga said jumping up and down.

"Okay, what do you want to play?"

He turned to his friends and then all three of them turned, touched her and yelled, "TAG! You're it!" Then they turned and fled. Giggling, Kagome stood and ran after them.

* * *

After playing for a while, Kagome got tired and hungry. "Okay, boys. It's time to go in and get some lunch."

"Aw, come on Komori-san! Let's play more! I'm not hungry!"

Kagome gave him a stern look. "No, Kouga. I said it's lunch time so we're going in to eat lunch."

"But meals are so boring!"

Walking over to where he stood and kneeling down to look him in the eyes, she said, "I'll tell you what. How about we make it into a game?"

He looked at her confused. "A game? How?"

"You and your two friends can race to see who can get me the ingredients fastest and when its finished cooking, we'll see who can eat it the fastest."

"That sounds great!" Kouga's eyes were shining again.

"But that's unfair!" Kagome turned to the other voice to see Hakkaku pouting, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"What's unfair, Hakkaku?"

"Kouga is faster than us. He always wins races with us. _And_, he inhales his food faster than anyone I've ever seen. We'll loose for sure!" Ginta answered for him.

Kagome winked at him as she said, "Then you'll just have to be smarter than him." They still didn't seem happy. She sighed. "Then how about I give you a five second head start?"

They smiled and shouted, "Sounds good, Komori-san!"

* * *

Kagome walked into the den and nearly collided with Kaito. "Oh! Kaito-sama! Excuse me!"

"I was just coming to tell you to bring the boys in for lunch but it seems that you have everything under control."

"Yes, I figured out how to deal with him. Appeal to his interests."

"I see. That's good."

Kouga came bounding up to his father. "Father! I like Komori-san! Can I keep her?" Kagome blushed slightly at that comment. It made her think of the Kouga she knew.

Kaito looked down at his son and frowned slightly. "I already told you this morning, Kouga, she is only staying until her foot has healed."

Kouga stuck out his bottom lip and clasped his hands together in the classic "puppy-dog" look. "Please, Daddy?" Kagome suppressed a laugh behind her hand.

"No, Kouga. She isn't a pet you can keep. If you really want Kagome to stay you'll have to ask her yourself."

Kouga quickly spun around and ran up to her. He grabbed both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes with a pleading look. "Would you stay with me, Kagome?"

She mentally gasped. Even though he wasn't even half as tall as she usually sees him and his voice was still that of a child's, his question was still the same as always. Stay with me. She smiled. "Well, as long as the well is closed, I might as well stay. However, if it opens again, I'm gone, okay?"

He nodded, not understanding what she meant, and raced off towards the kitchen with his friends. He was just happy she wasn't leaving.

Kagome watched him disappear into the darkness of the caves and when she could no longer see him, she turned back to the wolf lord. "That was very kind of you." He said.

"Well, it makes sense. I can't go home if the well isn't working."

"I guess…" He still didn't believe her that she traveled through time.

Kagome put her hands on her hips. "You don't believe me do you?"

"Not really,"

"How can I prove it to you, then?"

Kaito thought for a moment. "Perhaps you can tell me the name of the Western Lord's newly born hanyou son. Only a few in the whole world even know he exists let alone his name."

"You mean, Inuyasha?"

He stared wide-eyed at her. "How did you know that?"

She giggled at his expression. "I know Inuyasha, in the future. He's my friend. We travel the countryside together in search of an evil demon named Naraku."

"You know him?" She nodded. He was dumbfounded. She seemed to be telling the truth. "Okay, I think I may believe you now."

"You think you may?" She raised one eyebrow at him. He responded with a nod of his head. "I suppose that's better than you not believing me at all."

"Komori-san! We're hungry!" Kouga's voice echoed down the stone corridor.

"I guess that's my cue. We'll talk later?" Kagome smiled at him.

"Sure. Later." With that, he turned and walked away.

She turned and walked down the hall towards the kitchen to make the boys their lunches.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review. I'd like to know what you think. Should I continue?

Until next time,

kaerfemina


	2. Story Time

A/N: Happy birthday to me! Okay, so technically, it's not my birthday until the 24th, but I couldn't wait that long to post this! So my present to you is this! An update! YAY!

I love this story so much… I hope you enjoy! Sorry it took so long. Darn you writer's block! I hope this makes up for it.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! Except Kaito, he's mine! :D

"speaking" 'thinking' _flashback/dream_

* * *

The Nanny

Chapter 2

* * *

After finishing feeding the three boys, Kagome felt as if it was naptime. Kouga's rambunctious attitude really wore a girl out. But when she brought it up, Kouga shook his head vigorously.

"No, Komori-san, we aren't babies anymore! We don't need naps!" He crossed his little arms over his chest.

She sighed and kneeled in front of him. "Then how about we have some quiet time? We'll go out by the lake and I'll tell you a story."

Kouga brought a hand to his chin and thought for a minute. He then turned to his friends. "What do you think, guys?"

The two boys looked at each other. They were pretty tired too. Kagome's nap idea sounded good to them. They may have been the same age as Kouga but he always seemed to have too much energy for them to keep up with. A nice quiet story by the lake sounded like a godsend. They turned to Kagome. "Sounds good, Komori-san!" They chorused. Kouga shrugged and went along with it.

* * *

Kagome found a nice grassy spot in the shade of a large maple tree that grew near the lakeshore. It was really hot here in the Southern Lands. No wonder everyone had tans! Once she was in the cool shelter of the tree, she sat down and leaned against the trunk. "Sit down boys." She commanded.

Ginta and Hakkaku sat down nicely in front of her while Kouga sprawled out on his stomach.

"Alright boys, what kind of story would you like to hear?" She asked.

"Tell us a scary story!" Kouga exclaimed, throwing his fist into the air.

"No! Not a scary story! I hate scary!" Ginta said. He remembered the last time he heard a scary story. He couldn't sleep for a week!

"Okay, nothing scary. Got it." Kagome said and winked at Ginta.

With that, Ginta perked up. "Tell us a love story!" He cried.

"Ew, gross, Ginta! You're such a girl!" Kouga said, his nose scrunched up in disgust.

"Hey! I am not!" Ginta cast a glare at the wolf prince as Hakkaku snickered behind his hand.

"Okay boys, that's enough." Kagome scolded. "No sappy love stuff either, okay?" She looked at Kouga as she said this. She found it ironic that the love sick wolf she knew thought that love was gross when he was young. It took everything in her not to laugh.

"Thank you," Kouga said with a smug look on his face. Ginta slumped over into a pout.

Suddenly, Hakkaku's face lit up. He figured out the perfect kind of story for her to tell. It would please both of his friends as well as himself. "Tell us an adventure story!" He shouted triumphantly.

"Yeah!" The other two spoke in unison.

Kagome smiled. It was a relief that they finally agreed on something. "Okay, give me a second to think of something…" Her voice trailed off as she tapped her left index finger on her cheek in thought. "Okay, I got it!" She turned to the excited demons and began to tell her tale.

"Once upon a time…" She started.

* * *

She told them her own story. About teaming up with Inuyasha to hunt down Naraku and the Shikon Jewel. However, she changed out the names of the characters so they wouldn't be recognized. She got so wrapped up in telling it, that she didn't even notice that the sky was starting to darken until Kaito's deep voice interrupted her.

"You're quite the storyteller."

Kagome jumped. "Oh, Kaito-sama! You startled me!"

"I apologize, but it is getting late and the boys need to come inside."

Kagome glanced up at the darkening sky. Realizing the time, she scrambled to her feet. "I didn't even realize the time! I must've been really into the story."

"Komori-san," Kouga said.

"Hm?" Kagome looked down into his sparkling baby blues.

"Your stories are the best!" He said, clenching both fists in front of him in excitement.

"Oh yeah?" She responded. He nodded enthusiastically. "So who's your favorite character?"

"The leader of the wolf pack!" He answered without hesitation.

She had to suppress the laughter bubbling up from her chest. "Well, you would." She managed to answer. "Come on now boys, let's get inside."

They all got up and began walking back to the den. Ginta fell into step beside Kagome while Hakkaku and Kouga walked with Kaito excitedly summarizing the stories they just heard.

"Komori-san?" The small wolf asked.

"What is it Ginta?"

He looked up at her in admiration but also with concern. "Did all those things really happen to you?"

Kagome quickly realized that she was telling the story in first person and that her name was the only name she'd forgotten to change. Oops. "It's just a story Ginta." She lied.

He seemed satisfied with that. "You're very good then. It all seemed too real to be made up."

"Thank you. That's what I was aiming for. So who was your favorite character?"

He thought for a minute. "I'm not sure yet. I like Inuyoshi's* sword but I'm not sure if he is my favorite. I really liked your character. You were very brave and strong." Kagome's cheeks dusted light pink when he complimented her. "So for now I think you're my favorite."

"Well that's very flattering, Ginta. Thank you." She smiled down at him as they entered the den.

"You're welcome." He answered just before he scampered away to the dining hall for the pack's dinner time.

* * *

Inuyasha stood in the clearing as the sun set behind the trees. "Keh, where is that wench? She said she only needed to go home for one day for that test thing." He stared down into the well. "I guess I have to go get her again. What a pain." He murmured as he leaped into the well.

Nothing happened. He landed on the bottom of the well with a thud. "What the-?" He jumped back out and tried again. Again nothing happened. So he panicked. He began to dig in the dirt on the floor of the well. "KAGOME!" He screamed.

* * *

"Kouga! You need to settle down! Go get in your bed!" Kagome yelled at the rambunctious young wolf.

"But I'm not even tired!"

"I don't care. It's bedtime so get in bed."

He listened to her but was grumbling the entire way. She walked over to his futon and tucked the soft fur blankets around him. She got up to leave.

"Komori-san?" Kouga asked in a small voice.

Turning back to him, she answered, "What is it, Kouga?"

"Mama always sang me to sleep," His cheeks flushed pink as he confessed this. "Would you sing to me, Komori-san?"

She knelt back down beside him and smiled. "You don't really want to hear me sing Kouga. I can't carry a tune to save my life."

"Please? I'm sure you have a lovely voice. You're too pretty not to sing pretty too." His face flushed deep red but he smiled at her widely.

"Alright, you asked for it." She said ruffling the hair on his little head. So she began to sing.

"A gentle breeze from Hushabye Mountain

Softly blows o'er lullaby bay.

It fills the sails of boats that are waiting--

Waiting to sail your worries away.

It isn't far to Hushabye Mountain

And your boat waits down by the key.

The winds of night so softly are sighing--

Soon they will fly your troubles to sea.

So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain.

Wave good-bye to cares of the day.

And watch your boat from Hushabye Mountain

Sail far away from lullaby bay."

Kouga looked at her tiredly when she had finished. "See? That was pretty. Thank you." He yawned.

She smiled softly down at him. "You're welcome. Good night, Kouga." She pulled the furs up tight around him again and stood and walked out of his room.

As she walked towards her room next door, she saw someone waiting at the doorway. She quickly recognized the Southern Lord. "Good evening, Kaito-sama. What can I do for you?"

"Kouga is asleep, I presume?" He replied.

"He is in bed and he should be asleep in a few minutes. Why do you ask?"

"You seem to have the magic touch with my son. It has been nearly impossible to get him to sleep since his mother passed."

"Does he miss her terribly?" Sadness filled her eyes as she spoke.

"Yes. They were incredibly close. Her death took a large toll on him. But he seems to have taken to you quite nicely."

She smiled. "Yes, he has."

"How is your ankle?"

"Oh! You know what? I haven't even thought about it since this morning! It doesn't really hurt anymore. Just a dull ache."

"That's good. Then would you like to go check on the well?"

"Does this mean you believe me about the future now?"

"I thought about it and I came to the conclusion that you were telling the truth. I suppose I should have known you weren't from this time. No respectable human girl today would show skin above the knee. But you, almost your entire thigh is exposed."

Kagome scowled at him. "You don't like how I dress?"

"That's not it. You just definitely dress differently then any of the women of this time."

She continued to glower at him. The word "respectable" hung in her mind. "All the girls my age wear this back home."

"I never said they didn't. Kagome, why are you so angry?"

"You don't think I'm _'respectable!'_" She sneered the last word.

"Not at all! I think you are highly respectable! You were able to tame my son, for Kami's sake!"

She crossed her arms and pouted a little, still angry.

"So do you want to check on the well or not?"

"I don't want to go anywhere with you right now. I'm not liking you very much."

Kaito's eyes widened in surprise. "But I didn't do anything!"

"I don't care. I'm still angry. Good night, Kaito-_sama_." She sneered the honorific like she didn't think he deserved the title. Then she walked into her bedroom with Kaito scowling after her.

* * *

Inuyasha rushed into Kaede's hut. Startled, Sango looked up at him. He was covered in dirt and his eyes were wild with unconcealed panic. Her own eyes flew open wide. "Inuyasha! What's wrong? What happened to you?"

Inuyasha turned to look at her. "I can't get to Kagome! The well is shut!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "What am I supposed to do?!" Frantically, his eyes searched the room. "Where's Kaede?"

"One of the villagers went into labor. She went to go help with the birth. Why? What is she going to do to help?"

"I want her to fix it!"

"Fix the well? Inuyasha, you're talking crazy. Kagome is safe at her home. Relax."

"Not always! What if she needs me? What if she tried to come back for help, but the well won't let her? Sango, I need to see her, even if it's just to know she's alright!"

Sango stared into his horror filled eyes. Nodding, she ran out into the growing darkness calling, "Miroku, come quick!" Inuyasha was hot on her heels. 'What on earth are we supposed to do? We don't even know how the well works!' she thought as the Houshi ran up to her.

"What is the problem, Sango?" He sensed nothing in the area that could cause such panic. Shippo sat on his shoulder his little eyes wide and worrying.

"The well is shut, and Inuyasha fears the worst."

"Kagome is in trouble?!" Shippo exclaimed as his eyes flooded with tears.

They reached the well only a moment later.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Inuyasha said looking down into the dark well.

Miroku looked down as well. "I'm sensing the same amount of energy from it as usual. I don't understand why it isn't allowing you to pass. Would you show us Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha quickly nodded and jumped into the well only to land at the bottom with nothing happening again. "Damn it!"

"Interesting." Miroku brought a hand to his chin.

"What is it, Houshi-sama?" Sango asked as the hanyou jumped back out.

"If I had to describe the energy of the well in colors, its normal energy is blue. But when Inuyasha just jumped in a moment ago, the color changed to red as if it was rejecting him."

"But why would it reject me? It never has before!"

"Now that I do not know."

"You're not helping, Miroku!" Inuyasha shook a fist in his face.

"My goodness, Inuyasha! Temper, temper." Miroku seemed alarmingly calm.

"You have a plan then, Houshi-sama?" Sango guessed from his remarkably peaceful expression.

He smiled at her deduction. "Why yes I do, my dear Sango."

Shippo looked up at him earnestly. "What is it?"

"I'm going to place a special sutra on the well. It should hold the energy in its current form so that Inuyasha can pass through."

Inuyasha grabbed him. "Well? What are you waiting for? Do it now!"

Miroku pulled out the sutra. "Fine Inuyasha. Calm down and let me go." When he did, Miroku walked over to the well and smoothed out the small paper onto the aged wood. Lifting a hand up near his face, he muttered an incantation then pressed the same hand down onto the well. "Alright, Inuyasha." His voice was strained as he tried to contain the strange energy of the well. "Try jumping in now."

Sango becomes worried for him and places a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Miroku?"

He smiled weakly at her. "Everything is fine, Sango. Go Inuyasha."

With that, the hanyou leapt once more into the well. The well attempted to reject him again but the sutra resisted the change from blue to red and it changed to purple. The energy grew angry and surged out of the well to engulf the clearing- pulling Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara through the well.

* * *

A/N: So, what do you think? Huh? Huh? I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Please review and give me some feedback.

*FYI- Inuyoshi was the name Kagome replaced Inuyasha's with. I hope you could have figured that one out yourselves, but just so that there is absolutely no confusion there I let you know.

Ja-ne!

kaerfemina


	3. Flowers, Rivals & Games

A/N: Look! I actually updated! It's amazing! I apologize to all of you out there who were anxiously waiting. I have no excuses other than I was being lazy and didn't feel like writing. Which isn't fair to all of you great readers out there! So I hope this little update makes up for my absence.

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Kaito-kun is mine but I own nothing else…sigh.

"speaking" 'thinking' _flashback/dream_

* * *

LAST TIME: Miroku walked over to the well and smoothed out the small paper onto the aged wood. Lifting a hand up near his face, he muttered an incantation then pressed the same hand down onto the well. "Alright, Inuyasha." His voice was strained as he tried to contain the strange energy of the well. "Try jumping in now."

Sango becomes worried for him and places a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Miroku?"

He smiled weakly at her. "Everything is fine, Sango. Go Inuyasha."

With that, the hanyou leapt once more into the well. The well attempted to reject him again but the sutra resisted the change from blue to red and it changed to purple. The energy grew angry and surged out of the well to engulf the clearing- pulling Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara through the well.

* * *

"Ngh" Sango sat up from where she landed. She looked around but it was too dark to see. "Where am I?" The ground shifted beneath her and she heard Miroku groan. "Houshi-sama! Are you alright?"

She heard another groan then a gasp. "Sango," He replied breathlessly. "I can't breathe. You are sitting on my chest."

She felt her face warm as she leaped away from him. "I'm so sorry, Miroku!" In her sudden movement in the dark, she tripped over something, landing on her butt.

"Ow." Came the little voice of Shippo followed by Kirara's soft mewl.

"I'm sorry, Shippo-chan. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He said sitting up. "Where are we? It's so dark."

From out of the dark they heard, "Keh,"

"Inuyasha?" Miroku asked sitting up.

"We're at the bottom of the well. Look up."

They all looked up. Above them was a small square of night sky. They _were_ at the bottom of the well.

"But how did we get down here? Only you jumped into the well." Sango asked.

"How should I know? All I know is Miroku's stupid sutra didn't work. I'm still here." They heard him move in the darkness. "I'm getting Kaede-baabaa. Maybe _she_ could help me." With that he leapt out of the well and ran off.

"Inuyasha!" Sango called after him. When she realized he was gone she grumbled to herself. "You could have at least helped us get out of here."

"FOXFIRE!" Shippo yelled as a green flame flickered up from his hand. He held it up as high as he could. The light from the small flame illuminated the bottom of the well.

In the dim light, they could see the vines that grew along the walls of the well. So they began to climb out. Miroku climbed out first and helped the others. As he was lifting Sango out of the well, Inuyasha burst back into the starlit field.

His eyes were wide with panic again. "Now what?" Sango asked calmly pulling Shippo and Kirara out of the well.

"The village! It's gone!"

"WHAT?" All three of them replied.

"Is everyone alright?" Sango asked, assuming he meant a demon attacked it and prepared to help any wounded.

"No! It's like the village never even existed! It's just GONE!"

"That's impossible, Inuyasha. We were just there." Miroku declared.

Inuyasha pointed towards where the village was supposed to be located. "Go see for yourself! It's not there!"

Miroku and Sango shared a worried glance before sprinting for the trees. When they emerged on the other side of the woods, they saw that Inuyasha was telling the truth. All they saw was an open plain.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sango exclaimed.

Inuyasha came up beside her. "Told you." He muttered.

She turned on him, fuming. "What is going on, Inuyasha!"

"What are you asking me for? I have no idea what's going on either! I didn't make the village disappear!"

Miroku cleared his throat. The arguing duo turned to glare daggers at him. He swallowed uneasily but spoke anyway. "There has to be some reasonable explanation for this. I recall the well acting strangely before we all blacked out."

"So this is all you and your stupid sutra's fault!" Inuyasha wailed.

"What are you saying, Houshi-sama? That the well pulled us through?"

"Possibly. It is like we went backwards in time to before Kaede's village was even built."

Sango's mouth hung open upon hearing that. Inuyasha just nodded as he thought this over. "That makes sense." Suddenly, his eyes flew wide as he realized something.

"What's the matter, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked as he jumped to the hanyou's shoulder.

"We aren't in Kagome's time, but we aren't in our own time either."

"Yes, we've established that." Miroku said in a sarcastic tone.

"No! I mean, I didn't think much of it earlier, but I smelled Kagome's scent in the clearing by the well. She's never been to this time period before. That means that she's here!" Fear and panic flooded him again. She is all by herself! If she gets herself into trouble, no one would be there to protect her! With that thought in his mind, he turned and raced back to the well to follow the scent.

"Hey! Inuyasha! Wait for us!" Sango called after him "Kirara!"

The nekomata transformed and they all climbed on her back and rushed after him.

* * *

"Komori-san?"

"What is it, Kouga?" Kagome replied. They were outside for morning playtime.

Kouga's face got cherry red as he held out a field daisy. "I found this flower and I thought you might like it."

"Why thank you, Kouga." She took the flower from him and brought it up to her nose to smell it. "It's very pretty. How sweet of you." She ruffled his bangs a bit.

Kouga beamed up at her and bounded back to his friends. Ginta scowled at him. "What's the matter with you, Ginta?"

Ginta held out his fist. Clutched in his hand was a yellow wildflower. "I was going to give this to Komori-san."

Not understanding why his friend was angry because of this, he responded with, "You still can. She's right over there."

Ginta clenched his fist around the flower, breaking the stem. "No I can't! Then it would be like I was copying you!"

"Huh? Copying me? Why would that matter? Just give it to her."

He threw the broken flower in the dirt. "Grr. Forget it! You don't get it." He growled and stomped away.

Kouga turned to Hakkaku. "What was his problem?"

The other boy shook his head. "Don't you get it, Kouga? Ginta _likes_ Komori-san."

"So? I like her too. She's great. There's no reason for him to get mad."

Hakkaku sighed. "No, he _like_-likes her."

"Huh? Like-likes her?" Kouga's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh."

"Yeah. He thinks you just made him look bad in front of her."

"What? How?"

"By giving Komori-san a flower it made you look good and automatically made us look worse to her."

"That's stupid!"

"Well, that's what he thinks."

"She's _my_ nanny! I should be able to give her anything I want!"

"Whatever. It's not like I care." Hakkaku shrugged then walked away.

"Hmph!" Kouga crossed his arms and plopped down in the grass. 'I didn't realize Ginta liked Komori-san like that. I don't like it. He shouldn't be liking her. She's _my_ nanny, not his. I'm gonna have to stop this.'

Suddenly, he heard Ginta cry out in triumph. "Look, Komori-san! I caught it! Look, look!"

Kouga turned around to see Kagome peering into Ginta's cupped hands. "Oh, wow! A butterfly! It's so pretty. Good job, Ginta!" she praised.

Kouga growled. 'Damn him! She's mine! He can't have her!' He jumped up and dashed over to where they were standing. "Lemme see!" He said, feigning enthusiasm, and shoved Ginta away from Kagome.

Ginta growled under his breath. He knew exactly what Kouga was trying to do. So he let the insect fly away. "Oops, sorry Kouga. I lost it."

"Aw, too bad." Kagome sighed shading her eyes as she watched it fly toward the morning sun.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Kouga turned to Ginta. "She's mine, so back off!" he hissed under his breath so she couldn't hear.

"Who gave you dibs? Komori-san's a big girl, I say we let _her_ decide who she likes better." Ginta replied, copying Kouga's low tone of voice.

"Fine. From now on you and I are _rivals_!"

"Oh. Looks like a storm is coming." Kagome remarked, gaining the attention of the two boys. As she spoke, a small rumble of thunder could be heard off in the distance. "We should get back inside." The clouds were moving fast, the storm would be upon them soon. Gathering up the three boys, she ushered them back into the safety of the den.

* * *

The rain fell in torrents washing away all traces of Kagome's scent. Inuyasha stamped his foot in a puddle and growled up at the churning purple clouds above his head.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku called from Kirara's back. "We should find shelter!"

Inuyasha turned his gaze to the monk. "Keh, fine." And so he gave up his futile search for Kagome in search of the nearest source of shelter.

An hour later, the soaked group sat huddled around a small fire under a small outcropping of rock on a low cliff side. The storm raged around them as they waited for it to pass.

Shippo, shivering from the cold rain that clung to him, looked up at the fuming hanyou with wide, frightened eyes. "Are we ever going to find Kagome, Inuyasha?"

"The rain is going to make it harder, since her scent is getting washed away, but I'll find her. She was going in a pretty straight-line south. We'll just keep going in that direction until we find her." Inuyasha's eyes never left the fire as he spoke. His mind was working overtime trying to come up with strategies on how to find her once the storm was over. But he couldn't come up with anything better than following the southern path she was on and asking anyone they met on the way if they've seen her. It was very frustrating.

With a sigh, Inuyasha gazed up at the clouds as the sky lit up from a flash of lightning. 'Please be safe, Kagome.'

* * *

"Komori-san! I'm bored!" Kouga was sprawled on the floor of the main cave staring out at the pouring rain.

Kagome sat next to a large tub. She was slowly filling it with warmed water from the kettle on the fire. "Well, it's raining right now, so you can't go outside. And I need to do your laundry so you need to stay in this room." Kagome thought for a moment. "I suppose we could play a game."

Kouga's eyes lit up. "A game? What kind of a game?"

Kagome looked around quickly. She was too busy with the laundry to play a physical game. Maybe a word game? No. Kouga wouldn't appreciate a word game. Ah, she got it!

"How about we play 'I spy'?"

"I spy? How do you play?"

"I see something, then I give you a clue to what it is and then you guess what it was that I saw. For example, if I say, 'I spy something silver,' then you look for something the color silver in this room and guess if that's what I saw." She held up the warmed metal kettle. "See? This kettle is silver. This is what I saw. Wanna try?"

Kouga shrugged it was better than lying around being bored. "Sure."

She smiled at him warmly. "Okay. I'll start. I spy … something …" she looked around the room. She spotted a pretty large green gem in the wall on the other side of the room. From what she could see it was the only one in the walls in this room. "…Green."

Kouga glanced around too. "Hmm, is it the grass outside?" He pointed through the cave mouth.

She grinned. "No, but good guess."

"Um, that green stuff on that rock over there?" This time he pointed to a rock closer to them.

"The lichen? No." He was pretty creative. She didn't even notice these things before he pointed them out.

"Dang, this is hard. Is it…your clothes?" He asked skeptically. That seemed too easy.

She laughed as she dumped the soiled clothes into the now full tub. "No. That would be too easy, silly."

He smiled sheepishly. "That's what I thought but it didn't hurt to ask."

"I guess you're right."

He really looked at the room this time. "Oh! Is it the herbs the healers picked this morning?" He indicated the small bundle of green that was waiting to be brought to the hospital wing of the caves.

"Very good guess," She said scrubbing the furs with a bar of soap. "But, no."

"Dang! I coulda sworn that was it. Hmm…" He looked around once more. Finally his eyes focused on the jewels in the wall across the room. He gasped. "Oh, I know! The pretty green rock in the wall over there!"

She clapped her hands. "Yes! Good job, Kouga! Congratulations!"

"Cool! My turn, my turn!" He looked around. "I spy something brown!" he crowed.

She sighed. Everything in this cave was brown. "Kouga, everything around here is brown. You're going to have to be more specific."

"Oh. Right. Then forget about that one. I spy something…" He stared right at Kagome as she continued to scrub. His cheeks warmed as he decided on something. "…Blue."

"Blue?" Kagome looked around. Other than the dozens of blue gems in the walls and ceiling, there was nothing blue in the room. "Is it one of the gems in the walls?"

He shook his head.

"Oh." She stared at him trying to figure out what he could have possibly seen that was blue. That's when she saw something. "Your eyes?"

"How can I see my own eyes? You're funny, Komori-san." Kouga's heart was racing. She was very close with that guess. He was thinking of _her_ eyes when he chose the color blue. They were lovely pools of sapphire while his own were a much lighter aquamarine. He could just swim in their fathomless depths. Staring into her eyes now, he sighed contentedly.

"Goodness, Kouga! You're good at this game! I have no idea. What did you spy?"

"Um," He couldn't tell her that! He didn't want to reveal his crush on her yet! In his panic he saw a little flash of blue out of the corner of his eye. He looked at it and sighed in relief. "Look at the fire, Komori-san. See the little bit of blue flame close to the wood?"

She nodded and he grinned. "Oh! That's really smart of you. I never would've guessed that in a million years." She began rinsing the clothes she had been scrubbing. "Wanna play another round?"

"Yea, that was kinda fun!"

As she continued to dunk the garments in the tub of water, Hakkaku came scampering up. "Hey Kouga! Whacha doin'?"

"Playing a game with Komori-san while she does the laundry."

"Can I play?"

"Sure!"

Hakkaku sat next to them. "Speaking of laundry, obaa-chan needs to do ours."

"So you live with your grandmother, Hakkaku?" Kagome asked as she wrung out the excess water in the clothes.

"Yea, my parents died when I was really little. My obaa-chan has taken care of me ever since."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It must be really hard for you."

"Nah, I don't really remember them. I was just a baby when they died."

"Come on, Komori-san! What do you spy?" Kouga urged, wanting to get away from the somber conversation.

She smiled down at him. "Alright," She looked around for a little while. "I spy something…" She smirked as she looked right at the two wolves. They'll never guess this one. "…White."

Kouga looked utterly confused. "Is it…um…" he looked around and saw nothing that was white except Kagome's blouse. He couldn't think of anything that was white except, "…Snow?"

Kagome gave him a disapproving look and indicated the area around them. "Do you see any snow around here, Kouga?"

Kouga blushed deeply. "No but that was the only thing that I could think of that is white other than your shirt and it can't be that."

"Well, you're right it isn't my shirt, but it isn't _snow_ either," she giggled.

"Is it our teeth?" Hakkaku opened his mouth and pointed inside.

Kouga snickered. "Your teeth aren't exactly _white_, Hakkaku."

"What? And yours are?" He growled back at the wolf prince.

"Boys, no fighting. And no, it isn't your teeth."

They sat there for a long time and thought, looking around trying to find at least one thing in the cave that was white. Kagome almost forgot about the game as she continued washing the clothes.

"UGH! I give up!" Kouga cried. "I can't think of anything! There is nothing else white in this room!"

Kagome started at his sudden outburst. She was wringing the last of the clothes out. She looked over at Hakkaku and smiled. "How about you, Hakkaku?"

He sighed. "Yea, I give up too. What is it?"

She pulled down the lower lid of her left eye. Looking up she pointed to her eye. "It's the white of your eye." They both stared at her shocked, mouths hanging open. She giggled at there expressions. Standing, she said, "Come on boys. Help me dump this tub."

They obeyed in a dumbfounded stupor. They dumped the tub at the mouth of the cave. Kagome glanced up at the sky. "Looks like the storm is almost over. The clouds are thinning. Maybe you guys will be able to play outside this afternoon."

That woke them up. "YAY!" they cheered.

* * *

The group was napping around the fire when Inuyasha felt a beam of sunlight touch his face. He was on his feet in an instant. The clouds were still thick overhead but they were breaking up and it wasn't raining anymore.

Inuyasha walked over to Miroku and kicked him. "Oomph! Hey! What was that for?"

"Get the others up. The storm's over. We're leaving."

* * *

A/N: This isn't as long as I would like since I've been gone for so long but hopefully I'll be able to update again very soon. Review me PLEASE! :D

~kaerfemina


	4. Hunt

A/N: Hooray! Another update! This is one of the few of my stories that isn't trapped in limbo right now. For those of you who know, my laptop broke and all of my stories got trapped inside. I've given up trying to retrieve them. I'll just have to write all my updates from scratch. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this little update.

This chapter is dedicated to Safaia Bara for kicking my butt to get this out! Thanks so much Nee-chan!

DISCLAIMER: I own everything…wait, that's a lie. I own nothing…except Kaito-kun! He's mine! Please don't steal him! Though if you ask nicely I might let you borrow him…for a minimal fee. lol jk.

"speaking" 'thinking' _flashback/dream_

* * *

LAST TIME: The group was napping around the fire when Inuyasha felt a beam of sunlight touch his face. He was on his feet in an instant. The clouds were still thick overhead but they were breaking up and it wasn't raining anymore.

Inuyasha walked over to Miroku and kicked him. "Oomph! Hey! What was that for?"

"Get the others up. The storm's over. We're leaving."

* * *

"Damn it!" Inuyasha yelled as he stomped his foot. He hated that he couldn't pick up Kagome's scent anymore; the rain had washed it away. He had no idea where she was, and that made him nervous. What if she was in trouble? What if she was hurt? What if…? The possibilities were driving him mad.

"Inuyasha?" Shippo called as he cautiously approached the frustrated hanyou. They had been following the southern path that Inuyasha set for over two hours and everyone was starting to get discouraged.

"What do you want, runt?" Inuyasha snapped at him.

Shippo shrunk back a little from his tone. He definitely was _not_ in a good mood. "Are we ever going to find Kagome?"

Inuyasha glared at the kit, but didn't answer because he wasn't even sure of that himself.

"Of course we're going to find her Shippo!" Miroku ruffled the boy's bangs. "Kagome-sama was heading south so that's where we're going too. We're bound to run into her eventually."

"Not to mention," Sango called from above them, atop of Kirara's back, "there's a village up ahead. We could stop and ask them if they know anything."

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah. Now let's go. Daylight's wasting."

* * *

After she fed the boys lunch, Kagome brought them back outside. "Oh wow! How pretty!" she exclaimed as soon as she stepped onto the field. The grass still had small drops of water clinging to the blades and they sparkled in the sun like crystal and a rainbow arched over the lake in the distance. "Dang, I wish I had my camera."

All three wolves looked at her with confused expressions. "Komori-san, What's a ca-m-er-a?" Hakkaku asked curiously.

"Umm," Kagome scratched the back of her head sheepishly. She had forgotten for a second where, or more accurately _when_, she was and said something she shouldn't have. "Well, a camera makes pictures."

"Neat! I wanna see!" Kouga exclaimed.

"Sorry, Kouga, but I don't have it with me." _Plus, I have no way of developing the film so you can see it anyway._

The little prince crossed his arms and pouted. "I really wanted to see."

"I know. Maybe another time." She ruffled his bangs. "Okay so let's play a game, you grump."

"What game?" Ginta asked.

"I don't know. You three decide."

"Let's play Hunt." Hakkaku's eyes sparkled with excitement. Hunt was his favorite game and he was good at it.

"Hunt? I've never played. You'll have to teach me." Kagome was always up to learning new things.

"It's a really great game, you'll like it, Komori-san." Kouga said enthusiastically.

"I'm in Komori-san's pack!" Ginta called.

Kouga glared at him a second before smirking evilly. "Okay fine, Ginta. But Komori-san's never played before and _I_ have Hakkaku."

The satisfied smile fell off of Ginta's face as Hakkaku puffed out his chest in pride.

"So, Hakkaku, you're good at this game?" Kagome asked.

"He's the best." Ginta said gloomily. "We're gonna lose."

"You don't know that, Ginta. I might have beginner's luck."

Hakkaku stepped forward and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll tell you what, Ginta. Since Kouga and I are both good at this game, we'll let you and Komori-san pick out the den."

"WHAT? But that's not fair, Hakkaku!" Kouga complained, glaring at him.

"Kouga." Kagome scolded. "You have an unfair advantage. I've never played before and you two are good at it. We're just evening the playing field a bit."

"Fine. But we get the den first!" this was Kouga's idea of a compromise.

"I'm okay with that." Ginta said, starting to get into the game.

"Well, good. We're learning to work together." Kagome clapped he hands together. She looked around for a moment before saying, "How about that big boulder up on top of that hill over there? Would that make a good den?"

"Wow! Great choice Komori-san! That's perfect!" Kouga gave her a thumbs-up.

Kagome giggled and poked him affectionately on the nose. "See? Beginner's luck."

Hakkaku scampered up the hill and jumped up onto the boulder. "Okay, so me and Kouga get the den first. I'll be guard first Kouga. You be the hunter."

"Awesome! I love being hunter!" Kouga exalted.

"Is anyone going to explain this game to me?" Kagome asked, a little frustrated.

"It's a really simple game, Komori-san." Ginta began. "We are the 'prey.' Kouga is the 'hunter.' We go hide while he counts to fifty. When he catches us, we have to go with him to the den, where Hakkaku is 'guard.' He guards us because if I get caught, you can come save me and then I need to get captured again. The round ends when both of us get caught. Then we switch."

"Sounds like fun." The three wolves nodded enthusiastically. "Well, what are you waiting for, Kouga? Start counting so we can hide!"

"Oh!" He spun around and pressed his face into his arms and leaned against the stone. "ONE! … TWO! … THREE! …"

Kagome & Ginta took off in opposite directions.

* * *

"Well _that_ was a major waste of time." Inuyasha grumbled as they left the village.

"Now I wouldn't say that…" Miroku murmured as he nursed a bright red handprint on his left cheek. "Meeting beautiful women is _never_ a waste of time."

"HENTAI!" Sango cried, and next thing he knew, Miroku had a matching handprint on his other cheek.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "We got nothing from that village! No one knew anything about Kagome!"

"Its not their fault they haven't seen her, Inuyasha." Sango pointed out.

"One of the villagers said that the next southern town is 27 kilometers away. We might be able to reach it before nightfall." Shippo helpfully reminded them.

Inuyasha checked the sun's location in the sky. "Yeah, but we'll have to pick up the pace. Let's go."

* * *

Kagome crawled under a bush just as Kouga finished counting. "FIFTY! HERE I COME! YOU BETTER WATCH OUT!"

She watched as he darted down the hill in her direction. She noticed that he was following a very strange path, darting this way and that way, when suddenly she understood. He was following her scent! She had run all over the field looking for a place to hide before settling on the bush. He would find her for sure if she didn't move. It wasn't really fair playing games with demons whose senses were so much stronger than hers but she'd figure something out.

She slowly and carefully squeezed herself back out from under the bush and scurried up a nearby tree. She judged the distance between her tree and the one beside it and decided it was close enough for her to make the jump. She leaped over to the other tree, scraping her hands a bit, climbed down and ran. Maybe that would throw him off a bit.

Next thing she knew, a small body came flying at her from the side and hugged her around the middle.

"HA! I caught you Komori-san!" Kouga jubilated.

"Wow, you really _are_ good at this game!" Kagome replied, extricating herself from his grip. "I thought I might've stumped you back there."

"It was a good idea though. I can't track scent through the air, only on the ground. Ginta does it all the time so I know how to deal with it." He grabbed her hand. "Come on, to the den with you, prey!"

Kagome laughed and allowed him to pull her up the hill to Hakkaku.

"That was fast." Hakkaku commented.

"Yeah, I guess I need more practice, huh?" Kagome ruffled the boy's Mohawk as Kouga left in search of Ginta.

"Hey! Cut it out, Komori-san!" he complained pushing her hand away, trying in vain to fix his hair.

"You're such a spoil sport." She grumpily leaned against the rock behind her, fighting off a smile. "So now what?"

"We wait for Kouga to capture Ginta, or for Ginta to come rescue you. It shouldn't take long. Ginta is good at breaking his scent trail to confuse the hunter but Kouga knows all his tricks. He'll be captured soon, I think."

Kagome crossed her arms and teased, "You don't have much confidence in your friend, do you?"

"No, Ginta's very good. It usually takes a while to catch him. He's usually one of the last to get caught. Kouga just knows him too well."

Kagome smiled. "It's good to know that you think so much of your friends. You have such faith in them."

Hakkaku's face flushed and he turned away in attempt to hide it. "Its nothing. They're pack. Loyalty is a given."

"Whatever you say little man." She ruffled his hair again and he ducked out from under her hand. She chased him around the boulder trying to tousle his hair more until a clearing of a throat interrupted them.

Looking up, they saw Kouga staring at them. "What are you two doing?"

Hakkaku's usually spiky Mohawk was mangled and stuck out every which way. No matter what he did, it just wouldn't return to normal. Giving up trying to look presentable, he said, "I'm guarding Komori-san."

"That's not what it looks like. It looks more like she is chasing you."

"Aw lighten up, Kouga." Kagome replied. "We were just having some fun. Anyway, did you find Ginta?"

Both boys looked at her astonished. "What do you mean?" Kouga asked.

"Yeah, he's right there." Hakkaku pointed beside Kouga at what looked like a pile of brush.

Suddenly, Ginta's dark grey eyes were staring up at her. "Whoa! That's a great disguise!"

"Maybe to you." Hakkaku said.

"Yeah he didn't mask his scent at all. I found him easy."

"Shut up, Kouga. I didn't have time to scale a tree before you found me." Ginta's voice drifted out of the mass of twigs and leaves.

"Stop fighting boys. Time to switch. New round. I'll be guard, Ginta. So get cleaned up and start counting!"

So Ginta began to disentangle himself from his disguise.

* * *

"Inuyasha, would you slow down a bit?" Sango called. "We can hardly keep up."

"Keh, quite dawdling, you slow pokes! We can't slow down! Kagome's still missing! Anyways, the village is right over there!" he pointed toward the next hill then his nose. "I can smell it." The others sighed and hurried to catch up.

An hour later, they were questioning everyone in the village about Kagome. Suddenly, Inuyasha's head whipped around and he growled.

"What is it Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

"I smell wolf." The rest of the Inutachi gave him a confused look.

"Oh don't worry about that. It's just the Southern Lord's men coming to trade with our village. His den is very near to here." The merchant they were speaking to said calmly.

Sango looked at the man with surprise. "The Southern Lord is a wolf youkai?"

He smiled at her. "You folks really aren't from around here are you?"

They shook their heads.

"You should talk to them. They might've seen your friend. They know more about this area then we do most of the time. If she crossed through here, they're bound to know something."

As they left to go see the wolves, Inuyasha grumbled, "How typical of Kagome would it be if we found her staying with the wolves?"

Miroku chuckled. "At least she's consistent."

They found the wolves, four of them, at one of the little shops. Inuyasha marched up to them in his brash, uncouth manner and demanded to speak to them.

They laughed. "Leave us be, hanyou. We don't have time for you." One of the wolves said.

"Please, Ookami-san," Shippo pleaded walking up to the group. "We're looking for our friend."

"Hey there, kit." Another wolf kneeled down to be at his level. "What's this friend look like?"

"She's got black hair and blue eyes. She wears strange white and green clothes-"

"Oh! You mean the prince's nanny?"

"What?" The Inutachi replied.

* * *

"Ginta! Did you find them yet?" Kagome called from atop the boulder. She tried to see if she could see him through the trees around the field.

"Not yet but I think I'm getting closer!" A few seconds passed and, "HA! I gotcha, Kouga!"

"AW, MAN!"

The two of them emerged a few moments later and Kouga climbed up next to her on the rock. They watched Ginta run back into the woods.

"So, now what?" Kagome smiled down at her little charge.

"This'll take a while. Wanna play 'I spy' while we wait?" Kouga asked with a grin.

"Sure. You go first."

"Okay. I spy…"

* * *

"Kagome is at the Southern palace, right now, being the prince's nanny?" Sango asked again just to make sure she heard right.

"Yes, how many times are you going to make us say it?" the first wolf sighed in exacerbation.

"That's enough! Take us to her! Now!" Inuyasha screamed.

"Hold it, hanyou! How can we be sure you don't want to harm her?" The second asked.

"Or the prince?" The third added.

"Or our Kaito-sama?" The fourth continued.

"Just take us to her! We won't hurt anyone!"

"Shh! Inuyasha! You're not helping!" Sango shoved the idiot out of the way. "Please we just want to make sure she's okay. She went missing. Please take us to her."

"Fine. But keep a muzzle on your mutt."

* * *

The sun was sinking towards the horizon. "Ginta! Have you found him yet?"

"No!"

"Come on back! Both of you! Game's over! Hakkaku wins for not getting caught!"

Kouga whooped as Ginta crossed the field. "Dang," He muttered under his breath.

"Cheer up, Ginta. You'll get him next time."

"I doubt it."

"You will. I know it." She looked out at the woods, her eyes scanning the tree edge. "He sure is taking his time." She said anxiously.

The sun slipped behind a thick cloud near the horizon bringing on an early sunset and dusk.

Kagome turned to the boys as they began to roughhouse. "Boys cut that out. Go up to the den for dinner. I'll be along soon with Hakkaku."

"Okay." they chorused and raced back into the cave.

This wasn't good. Hakkaku was missing. She was worried. Taking a deep breath, she released her powers and reached out with her senses. She reached and stretched but she couldn't find him. _How far out did he go?_

She finally felt a brush of his youkai presence at the end of her reach and took off after it.

As she got closer his exact location became more distinct but another problem came into play. She could feel a pretty powerful demon in the direct vicinity he was in. He was in danger! She had to hurry.

* * *

Hakkaku was lost. He was so absorbed in the game and hiding his scent trails that he wandered out too far. Since he covered his scent, he had no clue how to get back home. Great. A tree limb snapping to his right spooked him and got him running and before he knew it he was tangled in a giant spider web. He thrashed a while trying to get out but that only made it worse. He now hung four feet off the ground and was completely encased in the sticky threads.

All of a sudden, the web began to move. The young wolf looked over to see a monstrously huge spider picking its way across its web to get to him. He was going to be eaten! He began to panic and tried in vain to get himself free.

"It iss no usse, wolf. My web iss unbreakable." The spider hissed. "You will be my ssupper. There iss no esscape!" The monster spider crept so close that his mandibles dripped their venom right beside Hakkaku's face. Suddenly, the monster screamed and leaped backwards.

"You won't touch him, you vile creature!" Kagome emerged from the gloom of the forest. In her hand she held a glowing, pink stone.

"Do not interfere, miko." the spider positioned itself to attack her.

"I won't let you eat him!" She threw the glowing rock and it hit the spider in the center of its eight eyes. It screamed and backed away more. Seeing she had no more weapons, it rushed her. But that's what she wanted. When it got close enough, she reached out and took hold of the closest leg and within seconds the leg disintegrated to shining, pink ash. The spider roared in agony and tried to impale her with its mandibles. She jumped out of the way and grabbed another leg. It too disappeared into glittering ash.

Teetering on only six legs, the creature desperately tried to lunge at her to finish her off. But it failed miserably when she caught hold of his mandibles. All eight eyes widened at her wicked smirk before his massive bulk exploded into a shower of pink sparks.

"Wow! Komori-san! That was amazing! You're like a warrior with super powers!" Hakkaku cried, his eyes shining with admiration. Kagome smiled softly at him as she gently removed the sticky strands from around him with her powers. They drifted away as pink dust. When his feet were back on the ground, he said, "Thanks. You're my hero."

"Hakkaku, a female is a heroine." She corrected.

"You're my heroine then."

She blushed. "Come on, lets get back." She turned back towards the den to come face-to-face with Kaito. "Oh, Kaito-sama! What are you doing here?"

The Southern lord just stared at her in awe.

"Kaito-sama? Are you alright?" she waved her hand in front of his non-responsive face.

That seemed to snap him out of it. "I asked my son where you were when he came in. He said you would be back with Hakkaku in a minute. When you weren't, I came looking for you. That was quite an impressive display. You are the most powerful miko I've met in a long time. You would be an indispensable ally."

"Thank you, Kaito-sama. But I already have a job caring for your son."

"Which I am now ecstatic that I picked you for the job. You are more than qualified to care for him. You can protect him as well. Better than I could have hoped for."

"I'm glad to have your approval, but we should get this one back to the den. He went through a horrible ordeal." she said indicating Hakkaku who clung to her side.

"Yes you're right. Let's go."

When Kaito and Kagome returned to the den, there was quite an uproar.

_Now what?_ she thought as she pushed her way through the crowd in the main den. When she emerged on the other side of the crowd, she saw something that she did not expect.

* * *

A/N: I'm so evil to leave it there, huh? But this chapter was a nice, extra-long one so I hope you'll forgive me. Please read and review.

Until next time!

kaerfemina


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